


A friendly bet

by luxshine



Category: NSYNC, Popslash
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-21
Updated: 2011-03-21
Packaged: 2017-10-17 04:48:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/173065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luxshine/pseuds/luxshine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gambling is a good way to kill some time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A friendly bet

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to milosflaca who listened to me change the plot for this at least five times. To musiclover03 for hand holding, and to otherdeb for waiting until wee hours in the morning when I finally finished it and betaing it on the spot. Oh, and to everyone participating on Choey day, 2007

“Joey, is Chris mad at me?” Justin asked suddenly; seemingly out of the blue, surprising Joey so much that he missed a step and almost tripped Kym.

They were at Joey’s house, rehearsing the quickstep that was giving Joey’s nightmares, when Justin arrived unannounced and unexpected.

While Joey loved having the guys drop by, Justin was the one who visited him the least. Whether it was because Justin was always busy, or because Kelly made him nervous, Joey didn’t know, but in five years of hiatus, Justin had only come around a handful of times. Always calling first, so this visit, right out of the blue and in the middle of his tour was very odd, to say the least.

“Not that I know of. Why?” Joey answered, smiling at Kym. She had suggested that their daily rehearsal could wait, but Justin had insisted that he didn’t want to interrupt Joey’s routine.

Now that Justin had started talking, Joey couldn’t help but worry that he would end up saying something that wasn’t supposed to be heard by someone not in their tight group. Kym was a very fun friend, but he wouldn’t discuss Lance’s relationship problems in front of her, or Chris’s more extreme personality.

He hadn’t even tried to explain to her his arrangement with Kelly, because, as far as he was concerned, it wasn’t Kym’s problem.

“Well, you know. He hasn’t called since he started the new project, and with the negative press and all,” Justin shrugged, leaning against his seat. Joey looked at Kym apologizing silently as he realized that whatever was eating Justin wasn’t going to be solved quickly and that he couldn’t concentrate on not stepping on Kym’s foot if he was also paying attention to Justin’s worries.

“I’ll go and get myself something to drink. Do you want anything, Joey?” she offered, smiling brightly. “Justin?”

“No, thanks,” they both answered. Joey waited until she was out the door to turn back to see Justin.

“Justin, what’s really wrong? You know Chris immerses himself fully in his projects, just like JC. He’ll be back to normal in no time, calling us every month or so.” That wasn’t exactly true. Chris kept more contact with Joey than with anyone else in the group, but that was to be expected since they actually lived pretty close together. But Joey wasn’t going to tell that to Justin, not when he and Chris had been through a very rough time in their friendship.

“It’s VH1, Joey,” Justin said, as if that explained everything. And maybe, in Justin’s head, it did. “He didn’t want to be on ‘The true Hollywood Story’, and now he’s on VH1? What if this is a call for help?”

“A call for help?” Joey repeated, amused.

“Yeah,” Justin nodded, obviously convinced. “A call for our attention! Since, well, we all have our things and we haven’t paid attention to his things. So he’s on VH1 now because of that!”

“If Sureshot is a call for help from Chris, what am I doing Justin?” Joey asked, trying to keep his good mood.

“What?”

“I said, if Sureshot is a call for help,” Joey began again only to be interrupted by Justin.

“What’s that? I thought Chris’s thing was called Manband,” Justin said, wincing at the name.

“Not anymore, it doesn’t have a name now. But seriously, Justin, reality tv is not that bad,” Joey insisted, hoping that Justin would listen. “Look at me, I’m doing fine and so is Chris. You should go and visit him and see for yourself. He’s doing great.”

And that was very true. Joey hadn’t seen Chris happier than when he was making music with a group, and it didn’t matter if it was *N Sync, Little Red Monster, Nigels 11 or Sureshot. Whatever happened to the show, Joey was sure that Chris was going to be fine.

It was just a matter of convincing Justin of that.

* * *

Chris was debating on whether to spend a little more time on the studio he had at his house or stay in the living room when Justin came in hurriedly.

“Hey Justin, what brings you here?”

Chris had never worried much about his privacy from the guys, and so when he had bought his house, he had given everyone keys. He figured that it was easier than opening the door whenever they decided to drop by, and since he preferred to have houseguests anyway, it was a good arrangement.

The fact that he had never thought of changing the locks after his big argument with Justin pretty much proved that, even then, Chris knew things would go back to normal.

“Have you talked to Joey lately?” Justin asked, surprising Chris. Justin rarely asked about his conversations with the others, and Chris knew that it was because Justin was trying very hard to shield himself from the subject that sooner or later always came up: what was going to happen to the group. “And hi, Chris.”

“Not since before he started competing, why?” Chris walked back to the living room, sure that Justin would follow.

“Just curious,” Justin said. Just as Chris had thought, he sat on one of the small loveseats on Chris’s table. “Where is everyone?”

“Everyone who?” Chris looked around. The house was empty except for himself and Justin, which was still difficult to get used to after three straight weeks of having all the crew from VH1.

“You know, your new band. Rich, Jeff, Bryan, where are they?”

“In their own homes, I hope,” Chris laughed. “They went back when we finished shooting.”

“So, it’s over? But you guys didn’t even put out one single,” Justin said, looking confused. “I thought you mentioned a single.”

“The shooting is over, but the band isn’t,” Chris said, studying Justin’s expression. So far, only Joey knew that what had started as a simple project to help Rich’s cause, was slowly evolving into something bigger. After the last radio show in LA, they had gone to New York to meet with some suits from a label, and the suits had liked what they heard. It seemed that the four-song single was going to be released as a full album, and now even VH1 was revising their original pitch for the project. “We’re going to get some studio time in two weeks.”

“Really? Cool!” Justin’s smile was sincere, which made Chris feel better. In truth, he had been a little worried about the guys’ reactions. Joey and JC were very supportive, he hadn’t had the chance to talk to Lance, but Chris had been worried that Justin would see Sureshot –the group’s working name- as a joke. “I thought… never mind. I’m happy for you, Chris.”

“Thanks, J,” Chris punched Justin lightly on the shoulder, just as he used to do. Even though years had passed, even after their small problems, they were still best friends. “But why were you asking me about Joe?”

Justin looked down at his hands, nervously. That wasn’t a good sign, in Chris’s experience. When Justin didn’t answer immediately, it was because he was sure that no one would like what he had to say.

“You think he feels left behind?” Justin finally asked. “Like, while everyone is out doing things and new projects… he just stayed home, waiting?”

“Joey has been doing things, Justin,” Chris said quickly, in defense of his other dear friend. “Sure, his movies have pretty much sucked, but he has done some. And a lot of theater. Just because E! isn’t banging on his door doesn’t mean he’s not doing anything.”

“Yeah but,” Justin bit his lips. “Come on, ‘Dancing with the Stars’? That’s worse than, like, ‘Survivor’.”

“Justin, at your show you said he was going to win, and you sounded pretty happy for him,” Chris reminded Justin. “What changed since then?”

If possible, Justin looked even more nervous now.

“Justin?”

“I went to talk to Joey yesterday,” Justin said, not looking at Chris. “And the subject of reality tv came up, and he said that if what you were doing was a cry for help, well, then what he was doing was one too. So I got a bit worried.”

“A cry for help?” Chris raised his eyebrows, not impressed.

“Yeah, you know. That’s why I thought he was saying that what he was doing was just his way of telling us that you know, he missed us.” Justin finished, more confident. “That’s why I was asking if he had said something to you. Because he would never tell me that he wants us to get together again, and if he thought you weren’t doing anything serious with the new band, maybe he would tell you?”

“Sorry, Justin, but no,” Chris shook his head. “And if you ask me, I don’t think Joey decided to participate on Dancing with the Stars just so we would remember his phone number. We all call him very often. Besides, you know Joey. If he has something on his mind, he’ll tell us right away.”

Justin nodded, making Chris sigh and shake his head.

Maybe he should talk to Joey, just to be sure that Justin was imagining things.

* * *

Joey was still practicing the paso doble in front of the mirror when Briahna came running into the studio.

“Daddy, daddy, daddy! Uncle Chris is here!” Behind Briahna, Chris was clapping.

“Next time you say you don’t dance, I’m going to have to hurt you Fatone,” Chris said, hugging Joey. Behind them, Briahna just waved and left the room. She always did that when Joey had visitors.

“It’s a lot harder than it looks,” Joey explained. No one seemed to understand why he kept insisting that he had no advantages over the other contestants, not even Kelly. He had tried to explain that not only it was very different to dance solo, than it waswith a partner, but he soon figured out that only Kym really understood what he meant. “You should try it sometime.”

“Oh, no. We only get one chance per member on reality tv and I got the VH1 deal, so I can’t compete with you,” Chris excused himself, laughing.

“Wait, does that mean that Lance has to go on ‘The Surreal Life’?” Joey joked.

“Nah. His cry for help has already been published on People,” Chris answered, suddenly serious.

Joey sighed, suddenly understanding. “You talked to Justin.”

“Justin talked to me,” Chris nodded. “He says you think I’m doing this as a desperate attempt for all of you guys’ attention… but I got the feeling that it was more his idea than yours.”

“Yeah, it was actually the reason why he came to see me when he was supposed to be in Washington,” Joey smiled. “You know what that means.”

“Do I?” Chris raised an eyebrow, teasingly.

“He freaked. He honestly freaked, despite all his words of support,” Joey laughed. “So that means I won.”

“Stop it right there, Fatone,” Chris raised his finger, walking to stand right next to Joey. “You said he would freak because we were going to be on reality TV. He didn’t freak over that.”

“He didn’t?” Joey asked, amused. Chris usually had very good stories to get away without paying his bets. “Then why did he freak, Kirkpatrick?”

“Because of the group!” Chris said triumphantly. “He still worries about the group, which means he still thinks about us *as* a group, which means I won.”

“You do realize that we won’t be able to settle this unless we ask him the truth,” Joey stated.

“First rule of the Fight Club, Joey. We can’t tell him we have a bet going on,” Chris answered. “We have to think of a way to break the tie.”

The bet was one of Joey and Chris’s oldest projects. One that had started as a means of keeping themselves amused during the long bus trips, and had since grown into something more. The only rules were that (1) they couldn’t talk to the others about it, because usually the stakes were around them, and (2) they couldn’t back out.

In the years since it had started –and it had started as innocently as betting where would the bus break down next- they had bet on everything from when JC would break up with his latest girlfriend, and if he would write a song about it, to Lance’s coming out – a section of the bet that Joey insisted he had won even when Chris said it didn’t count because Lance hadn’t been really outed by the paparazzi - to Justin’s see-saw moods. They never set out to do things just for the sake of the bet, what they did was betting on how the things they chose to do would affect the others. Joey had accepted participating on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ because he really wanted to try the challenge of ballroom dancing, and Chris had agreed to be on the VH1 show because he thought it was a cool idea, and he wanted to help Rich. The ‘let’s freak Justin out’ part of the bet had come much later.

“You mean, freak Justin again? Or get him to agree that we can do another record together?”

“I mean a doable bet, Joey, not a miracle.” Chris shook his head. “I say, no matter what we do, Justin will insist he supports us all the way. Even if he thinks it a bad idea, even if it is a bad idea, Justin will back us up.”

“You sure about that?” Joey asked, and Chris nodded. “Anything?”

“Anything you can think that can be printed in a respectable magazine.”

Joey bit his lip. He should be going back to his rehearsal, since there were only five more days left before the show. But on the other hand, Chris was handing him an opportunity not only to set a new bet but, also, to settle one bet that Joey had in his mind for almost seven years.

So he gathered his courage, leaned down, and kissed Chris.

* * *

Lance was enjoying a nice Sunday afternoon at his house, drinking ice tea and mercifully away from cameras, nosy bloggers and pleading ex-boyfriends when his cell phone rang.

He answered it quickly, because even when there was no one around to tease him for having ‘Bye Bye Bye’ set as a ringtone, he only had four people assigned to that particular ring, and Lance wasn’t going to ignore any of them. Not even Chris during the Superbowl.

“Hey, Justin, what’s up?” he asked, after glancing at the phone ID.

“Lance, did I ever do something really horrible to you guys?” Justin asked after saying hello. “I mean, something that would make you hate me forever?”

“Not that I can think off,” Lance laughed. There had been a time when he wished he could strangle Justin, but that had been because one of his old boyfriends had been obsessed with meeting Justin, and Justin’s voice, and Justin’s body, and Lance hadn’t been sure of who he hated the most for that. “Why do you ask?”

“Because you won our bet, and I’m actually afraid of what you’re going to ask in repayment,” Justin told him, laughing.

“What bet?” Lance frowned. He remembered a couple of bets he had made with Justin along the years, but none in the recent past.

“Joey and Chris are dating,” Justin said, very slowly. “Each other.”

Lance blinked, and took a tentative sip of his iced tea. It didn’t have any alcohol. “Can you repeat that again?”

“Joey and Chris are dating each other,” Justin said, faster this time. “A friend saw them at a club last night. I’m sending the picture she sent me to your cell.”

A second later, Lance was speechless. Because right there, on the full color screen of his cell, he could see clearly his two friends, locked in an embrace that could’ve been called just friendly, if it wasn’t for the fact that they were kissing.

Lance smiled, not only because he could see both Joey and Chris smiling in the photo, but because he remembered now what bet Justin was talking about. They had been in a hotel in Europe, the group had barely started, and while all the others were out clubbing, Lance and Justin had stayed behind in the hotel. Lance didn’t remember exactly how the subject of ‘do you think the press will think we’re gay’ had come up, but he did remember telling Justin that he was sure that before the group disbanded, Joey and Chris would end up dating.

Back then, the pair was inseparable.

Justin hadn’t believed him, and so they had made a very silly bet. If Chris and Joey kissed in a public place before the group separated, Justin would be Lance’s slave for a day.

Lance had forgotten all about that night. Justin had obviously not. And he still considered *N Sync a group, despite everything.

“I just hope you wait until I finish my tour to claim your prize, Lance,” Justin said, pulling Lance out of his memories.

“I’ll wait, don’t worry,” Lance laughed. He needed to get tickets to ‘Dancing with the Stars’ now, because he needed to talk with Joey, and probably, with Chris.

For the look of the photo, they had a lot to things to talk about.


End file.
